Self-powered electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from air and lignin
| Authors: | Yongrong Li, Denghao Ouyang, Xi Liu, Yichen Zhang, Zhiqiang Niu, Junyong Zhu, Xuejun Pan, Xuebing Zhao |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Type: | Scientific Journal |
| Station: | Forest Products Laboratory |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ee06106c |
| Source: | Energy & Environmental Science |
Abstract
Lignin, which is typically available as a by-product of the pulping process and biomass biorefinery, is a sustainable feedstock for production of carbon fuels and materials. Here, we report a novel coupled electrochemical system to achieve efficient production of H2O2 with air as the oxygen source and lignin as a carbon-based catalyst precursor and electron donor (fuel). By using a direct lignin fuel cell to power a paired electrolytic cell, the endogenous electrons of lignin can be transferred to air, resulting in the formation of H2O2 via a two-electron oxygen reduction reaction. A facile and efficient approach to synthesizing a B,O-doped carbonaceous catalyst was developed with lignin as a carbon precursor, achieving a H2O2 productivity of 11 812 mmol g-1 h-1 and a faradaic efficiency of 95.7%. Moreover, by using the [Fe(CN)6]3-/[Fe(CN)6]4- redox couple as the electron mediator for oxidation of lignin on the anode instead of the oxygen evolution reaction, the energy consumption of the electrolytic cell could be decreased by 11.4%. The self-powered system could obtain 93.7% of total electron transfer efficiency and avoid using external electricity. Therefore, this work provides a novel technical route for lignin utilization and production of H2O2 and biomass-based chemicals in a sustainable way.
Broader context
The use of biomass and application of renewable electricity to synthesize fuels and chemicals have attracted great interest in recent years for achieving carbon neutrality. As the most abundant aromatic polymer in nature, lignin is usually available as waste in pulping and papermaking industries, and lignocellulose biorefinery such as cellulosic ethanol production. Lignin has a relatively high content of carbon element, and thus it can be used as a good fuel for electricity generation and as a precursor for carbon materials. Electrochemical synthesis of H2O2 has been considered a promising alternative approach because of its mild conditions and flexible application scenarios. Herein, we demonstrate a novel coupled system for efficient production of H2O2 by electrochemical reduction of oxygen (air) with lignin as a carbon precursor and electron donor. By using a direct lignin fuel cell as a power source, the system can achieve transfer of the endogenous electrons of lignin to air, avoiding using external electricity. The driving force of this system is only the Gibbs energy change of the oxidation reaction of lignin by oxygen. This system can achieve utilization and treatment of lignin waste for the production of high value-added products in a sustainable way.